Minister of Finance Avigdor Liberman was a guest at today's 2022 Globes Israel Business Conference. In conversation with Globes Editor in Chief Naama Sikuler, Liberman spoke about the state of Israel's economy and hinted that Lapid is planning to form a coalition with the Haredim/
He said, "Don't believe politicians before an election, and not even Avigdor Liberman. Instead I will talk about 'The Washington Post' which recently published a song of praise for Israel's economy. We are in the best situation in the world if I look at the estimates of the IMF and ratings agencies. It's true we are in the midst of a crisis and there is inflation of 4.6% nut it is a lot lower compared with the US and European countries."
Sikuler took issue with Liberman on the gap between the marks that economists give Israel and the cost of living as it hits Israelis in the pocket. But Liberman insisted, "The last report of the Central Bureau of Statistics showed that first of all the price of food had fallen 0.4%. We have cut the cost of fuel and prices of olive oil, honey, fish and more have also fallen. There is no gratitude in the job of the Minister of Finance. Some of my predecessors couldn't take it but I'm not afraid of anything. I knew what I was getting myself into."
On the housing crisis, Liberman said, "This year we have broken all records on building starts. At the moment we are building 150,000 housing units. I'm talking about halting the price rises and even a fall in prices."
Liberman spoke at length about the need for the Haredi community to participate in the job market. "Whoever does learn core studies (math and English) won't receive a shekel from the state budget."
Hinting that Lapid is preparing to form a coalition with the Haredim he said, "My relations with Lapid are good and firm but because we are nearing the end of the election period, the decision at the moment is whether Ytizchak Goldknopf or Avigdor Liberman will be the Minister of Finance. He will finance ignorance and ignore core studies or will we invest in what it is important to invest? We are dealing with a group that is getting bigger and bigger and only wants to take and not give anything."
The Globes Israel Business Conference is held in cooperation with Bank Hapoalim, with sponsorship from The Phoenix Holdings, Amdocs, BDO, HOT, Geely, Shufersal, El Al, Tnuva, Profimex, The Israel Medical Association, My Desk, Contigo, and Cisco, and with the participation of Mekorot, the Israel Innovation Authority, Mobileye, Startup Nation Central, The Port of Ashdod, and Israel Electric Corporation.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 26, 2022.
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